| Official name | Urmia |
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| Other name | Orumieh |
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| Native name | Urmu |
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| Language | Azerbaijan turkish |
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| Settlement type | City |
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| Nickname | Cradle of Water,Paris of Iran |
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| Imagesize | 250px |
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| Image seal | Urumia Logo.gif |
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| Seal size | 90px |
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| Dot x | |dot_y = |
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| Pushpin map | Iran |
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| Pushpin label position | |
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| Pushpin mapsize | 220 |
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| Coordinates region | IR |
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| Subdivision type | Country |
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| Subdivision name | |
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| Subdivision type1 | Province |
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| Subdivision name1 | West Azarbaijan Province |
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| Subdivision type2 | County |
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| Subdivision name2 | Urmia |
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| Leader title | Mayor |
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| Leader name | Ebrahim Bazian |
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| Population as of | 2006 |
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| Population note | Population Data from 2006 Census. |
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| Population total | 871,204 |
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| Population language | mainly Azeri, and also Kurdish in some regions |
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| Population blank1 title | Population Rank in Iran |
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| Population blank1 | 10th |
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| Timezone | IRST |
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| Utc offset | +3:30 |
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| Timezone dst | IRDT |
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| Utc offset dst | +4:30 |
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| Elevation footnotes | |
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| Elevation m | 1332 |
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| Elevation ft | 4370 |
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| Postal code type | |
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| Area code | 0441, 0443 |
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| Website | www.urmia.ir |
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| Footnotes | }} |
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Urmia or Orumieh (; ;; ; ), during the majority of the Pahlavi Dynasty [1925–1979] called , ), is a city in Northwestern Iran and the capital of West Azerbaijan Province. The city lies on an altitude of 1,330 m above sea level on the Shahar Chay river (City River). Urmia is the 10th most populated city in Iran with a population of about 600,000. The population is predominantly Azerbaijani and Kurdish, with significant Assyrian and Armenian minorities.
Urmia is situated on a fertile plain called Urmia Plain, on western side of Lake Urmia; and eastern side of Turkish border and marginal range of mountains.
Urmia is the trade center for a fertile agricultural region where fruit (especially Apple and Grape) and Tobacco are grown. An important town by the 9th cent., Urmia was seized by the Seljuk Turks (1184), and later occupied a number of times by the Ottoman Turks. Urmia was the seat of the first U.S. Christian mission in Iran (1835). Around AD 1900, Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population, however, most of the Christians fled in 1918.
Etymology
The name
Urmia is a compound. The first element--"ur" standing for 'city', is
Sumerian.
Ur per se, was a principal Sumerian city. The second element, "mia" is Aramaic
Syriac meaning "water." Hence
Urmia simply means 'Watertown"--a befitting name for a city situated by a lake and surrounded by rivers, would be the cradle of water.
History
The city of Urmia (Urmiyeh), in northwest of
Iran, is considered one of the ancient cities of the country and a
Cradle of civilization.
The diggings in the ancient ruins around Urmia led to the discovery of utensils, some of which date back to some 2000 years B.C.
Also research by Professor Minorski shows that there have been villages in the Urmia plain some 2000 years B.C., with their civilization under the influence of Van nation.
In the ancient times, the west bank of Urmia lake was called Gilzan, and in the ninth century B.C. an independent government ruled there which later joined the Urartu or Mana empire; in the eighth century B.C., the area was a vassal of the Asuzh government until it joined the Median Empire after its formation.
All and all, according to historical documents, the western part of the Urmia Lake has been a center of attention of the prehistoric nations, the evidence of which are the numerous ancient hills in the area, such as Gouy Tapeh, 6 kilometers southeast of the lake which competes with the oldest hills of Mesopotamia, Asia the Minor, and the Iranian Plateau.
Many old Islamic historians have acknowledged Urmia as the birthplace of prophet Zoroaster.
The claim that the area was the birthplace of Zoroaster, or even the burial site of one or two of the Zoroastrian priests who allegedly traveled to Bethlehem for Christ’s birth indicate that the city has been one of the largest religious and scientific centers of the ancient times.
Urmia, according to some historians, is believed to be the birthplace of the prophet Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrianism.
The Columbia Encyclopedia mentions that Urmia was an important town in the region during the 9th century.
The Ottoman Turks made several incursions into the city, but the Safavids were soon able to regain control over the area. The first monarch of Iran's Qajar dynasty, Agha Muhammad Khan, was crowned in Urmia in 1795. Due to Urmia's relatively large Christian population growth by the end of the 19th century, Urmia also became the seat of the first American Christian mission in Iran in 1835. Another mission soon became operational in nearby Tabriz as well.
The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions Urmia as the seat of a Chaldean diocese.
Geography
Climate
Urmia's climate is
semi-arid (Köppen
BSk) with moderately cold winters, mild springs, hot, dry summers (though mild for Iran) and crisp autumns. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in late autumn, winter, and especially spring, while summer precipitation is very scarce.
Demographics
According to official census of 2006, the population of Urmia is about 871,204.
Language
The city is a multi-lingual city, with no language forming a majority.
Azeri and
Kurdish together form the majority languages, while
Armenian,
Assyrian,
Persian,
Karapapakh are also spoken by large minorities in the city. No trustworthy linguistic figures based on systematic statistics are available for the city, as various Iranian governments have prudently avoided getting ensnared and entangled by producing such needless ethnically provocative data.
Religion
The majority of people are followers of
Shia Islam (
Azeri Turks). Also, some
Sunni Muslims (Kurds),
Armenians and
Assyrians live in Urmia.
Sport
Sport is an important part of Urmia's culture. The most popular sport in Urmia is volleyball. Urmia is Iran's volleyball capital ,its because of ranks that
Heyat Volleyball Urmia VC got in
Iranian Volleyball Super League and for the great volleyball players that are in
Iran men's national volleyball team and first class coaches in Iran.
2010 Asian Men's Cup Volleyball Championship is going to be held in Ghadir Arena. Eight countries will participate in this championship and they are:
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2009 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship.
(Host & 2nd)
(4th)
(1st)
(3rd)
Consulates
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Flag
! Country
! Address
|-
|
|
Turkey
| Beheshti Ave., Urmia, Iran
|}
Ethnography
No ethnic group forms a majority in the city. The largest minorities are
Azeris and
Kurds.
Assyrian and
Armenian also form two large minorities, with the
Karapapakh and other
Persian-speaking
Iranians forming the remainder of the population.
The city has been home to various ethnic groups during its long history. For this reason, the demographics of the city have undergone numerous changes. Some historical documents show that at the beginning of the 20th century, the city's population had a significant Christian minority (Assyrians and Armenians). According to Macuch, and Ishaya, the city was the spiritual capital of the Assyrians from 1830 to the end of World War I by the influence of four Christian missions. Some of the Assyrians and Armenians left the region in 1914 after battles between the Russian and Ottoman armies which led to a shift in the city's demographics.
Radio
Urmia has one government-controlled radio channel broadcasting in both Persian and
Azerbaijani languages.:
Dubai
Istanbul
Mecca
Arbil
Domestic air routes to:Tehran, Mashhad, Kish Island, Shiraz.
Reza Moridi (رضا مریدی): second iranian who is Canadian politician and is in legislative assembly of this country.
Heydarkhan amu-oghlu (حیدرخان عمواوغلی): founder of the Communist Party of Iran and the first Secretary of the Communist Party of Iran and effective activist movement Constitutional.
Safi al-Din al-Urmawi (صفی الدین اورموی): music teacher
Habib Mohebian (حبیب محبیان): known as Habib, a pop musician.
Nasrin moganlu (نسرین مقانلو): is an Iranian actress.
Bijan Kamkar (بیژن کامکار): singer and composer Iranian Daf player.
Homa Nateg (هما ناطق): writer, researcher and professor in the field of history. Who in 1359 returned to France to research and teaching at the Sorbonne payment.
Sepehr Haghighat Afshar (سپهر حقیقت افشار) : Professor in the field of sociology.
See also
Urmia County
Lake Urmia
West Azarbaijan Province
Tabriz
Ardabil
Zanjan
Azerbaijanis
Photo Gallery of Urmia
References
External links
www.urmia.ir
The Governor of West Azarbaijan Province
Urmia Branch of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance
Urmia Branch of Ministry of Internal Affairs
Urmia Road and Transportation Office
Urmiya, By V. Minorsky and C.E. Bosworth, in Encyclopaedia of Islam.
Columbia Free Dictionary: Urmia
Category:Cities in Iran
Category:Urmia
Category:Iranian provincial capitals
Category:Populated places in West Azarbaijan Province
Category:Populated places along the Silk Road
